Potential Adjunctive Applications of Hypnosis in the Management of Periodontal Diseases

Abstract

Many uses of hypnosis in dentistry have been described in the literature including anesthesia, analgesia, anxiety management, treatment for bruxism, to control gagging, and the alteration of salivary flow and bleeding control during treatment. However, very few references have been made specifically regarding the use of hypnosis with patients who have periodontal disease, a wide spread chronic inflammatory disease affecting the oral cavity of about 80% of the population. The purpose of this paper is to describe potential adjunctive applications of hypnosis in the treatment of patients with periodontal diseases. The supporting literature from two broad areas for potential application, health behaviors and psychoneuroimmunology is discussed, followed by proposed hypnotic strategies and suggestions for use with patients with periodontal diseases.